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Zahra.chehri. 17) Podcasting
Podcasting, Video and screen casting, and live streaming PODCASTING PODCASTS AND SCHOOLS As with most of these other technologies, it's not hard to see why podcasts are making inroads in schools. One way to get into the flow of educationrelated podcasting is to visit the Education Podcast Network (tinyurl .coml66grdx), which lists nearly 1 ,000 different education-related shows. Not only is there a growing directory of educators who are doing personal podcasts, there are links to suggested classroom uses broken down both by grade level and subject. Steve Brooks over at EduGadget.com has some suggestions that schools and districts might want to think about, including guided "pod tours" of the campus on back-to-school night (perhaps created by students), or tours of art displays narrated by the artists. You could record assemblies, do new teacher orientations, have supervisors record descriptions of their departments, and record board meetings for students, teachers, and parents who are unable to attend. Principals could record weekly or monthly messages to the community, teachers, or even students. As with blogs, the possibilities are only limited by your imagination (Brooks, 2005a). GET TING S TARTED WITH PODCASTING Before you get your students podcasting, I would urge you to try it out first. Again, I think you need to experience what you are asking your students to do-not only so you can support their technical use, but also so you understand what Web publishing really feels like. Although the following may seem a bit high end, technically, podcasting is one of those technologies that can be as simple or as complex as you want it to be. And like aU of these technologies, once you've done it a couple oftirnes, it should come pretty easily. First, you need a way to record digital audio. If you don't have a computer that has a microphone built into the monitor (like most laptops these days) you can do this by plugging a microphone into your computer to record, or by recording directly onto some MP3 players. (Some handheld devices and mobile phones also make this possible.) For instance, iPods have microphone attachments that allow you to record directly to your iPod in MP3 format (the Griffin iTalk, for one). If you have a second generation iTouch, you can use the QuickVoice Recorder app from the iTunes app store (which also works on an iPhone if you have one of those). These are great for doing mobile recordings, like on field trips or while driving (not recommended). Take some time to experiment, record, and listen to see what kind of quality you can get and whether or not it suits your needs. And you'll also need to learn how to get the recordings off of your player and onto your computer. Depending on what type of portable recorder you use, you can use iTunes or Windows Media Player to do this when you attach your player. One other way to capture audio content for podcast is to use the free Internet telephone service Skype (Skype.com) to record interviews with people from around the world. (They can either have a Skype account as well, or they can use their regular telephones.) In fact, you can hold and record conference calls of up to five people. There are lots of recording programs out there, but I would suggest Call Recorder for a Mac ($14.95 at this writing at tinyurl.comleuc2f) and Skype Call Recorder (free at tinyurl.comld3zlpy) for a Windows machine. And a headset microphone would really improve the quality. Just download the software, set up your Skype account, get the Skype names of the other people you want to talk to ( I ' m willrich45), record the phone call, and use Audacity to export it as an MP3. Personally, I think there is a huge potential for using Skype in this way in the classroom. Once you have your "studio" ready, you need to figure out what you want to do or say for your test run. Maybe you can begin by creating short responses to things you read in the news or in the blogosphere. Or perhaps you want to create an audio tour of your classroom, interview some other teachers, recite poetry, or even sing a little bit (in my case, a very little bit). Whatever you decide to do, think about your audience, because you'll be asking your students to do the same. (You may even want to write out your first few pod casts beforehand, but [ would urge you to try not to read from a prepared script.logged in, click on the "My Podcast" link. Then click on "Post an Episode," and on the next page, fill out the basic infonnation in the fonn and then click "Record" at the bottom. Podomatic will find your microphone, and once it does, you can record your podcast directly onto its server. (Remember, however, you can't edit what you record, so you might need to redo it a few times until you get it right.) It will even set you up with your own iTunes subscribeable blog where you can send people to listen to your work. Video Publishing While elementary school kids seem to love podcasting, older kids have started gravitating to video in a big way. And the biggest reason for that without question is YouTube.com. Bought by Google back in 2006 for over a billion dollars, YouTube is already having an enormous disruptive effect on our society, and it's also becoming a place where more and more of our students go to publish the artifacts of their lives. As of this writing, over 20 hours of videos are being uploaded to YouTube every minute, which translates to almost four years' worth of video uploaded each day (tinyurl.comJp464gl). Staggering numbers, if you ask me. Not surprisingly, it's also a site that most schools have chosen to block. While, as with the other sites we've discussed here, the vast majority of YouTube content is appropriate, the "anyone can publish anything" aspect can be unsettling. (Still, wouldn't it be better to teach students how to deal with less-than-salient content that they see when they get home?) The same goes for Google Video and a number of the other popular uploading sites. So, a number of alternatives for educators are already springing up, the most notable of which is TeacherTube.com. TeacherTube has thousands of studentand- teacher-produced videos and wants yours as well. The great part about these online services is that they're free, number one, and they are unlimited in terms of their use. And, in the case ofYouTube, you can even record video right from your computer onto their server. Very cool. But as with podcasting, there is a certain amount of writing and preparation that goes into great movie making. It's digital storytelling in its most complex form, and it requires a significant amount of thinking and work to do it well. And, of course, the process is a bit more complex, making it difficult to cover in this small amount of space. My goal here is to point you in the right direction to get started. Getting started with video requires a bit more of an investment than with pod casting, but you can still produce some great movies on a shoestring budget. And remember, while quality is important, what's critical are the writing, producing, and publishing skills that students learn in the process. In that regard, the time investment is also much greater. Digital video cameras can run into the thousands of dollars these days, but you should be able to find a decent one for $300 or less. (A good starting point for your search is at cNet.com.) If there is one requirement for whatever you choose, make sure the camera has an external input for a microphone. That way, if you are shooting video from across the room, you can buy an extra long (like 30 feet) mic extension cord and drape it over a broomstick to create a makeshift boom mic for better audio quality. Before filming, remember to take the time to have students plan their movies using storyboards that frame out the story, and to do some basic instruction on how to hold and use the camera. One of the best resources for this that I've found is the video podcast at ]zzyVideo.c0111. Just check out the list along the right hand side of the page and you'll see a list of the dozens of short tutorials that can really help you understand the nuances of digital video production. Once you have a camera, and you've shot some video, you'll need to do some editing and production. Luckily, both Windows and Mac platforms have good basic video editors in MovieMaker and iMovie, respectively. Both allow you to import video and audio, and you can record audio voiceovers right onto your movie as well. You can create title screens, add text, run credits, and much more. In fact, the capabilities of these two free programs will most likely far outpace your and your students' needs. Both come with pretty good "Getting Started" tutorials that [ urge you to check out, or, of course, there are entire books out there dedicated to the subject. And, no surprise, there are also online video recording and editing alternatives. (Have 1 mentioned that the Web is becoming an app?) One to look at from an easy recording standpoint is JayCut.com, where you can upload your raw video from your computer, mix files together, add music and audio, and publish to your favorite video site. There are already many alternatives out there, so you may want to dig around your network for some suggestions when you read this. SCREENCASTING One step up from podcasting is screencasting, which is a relatively new medium that I think has a lot of promise in the classroom. Simply put, screencasting involves capturing what you or your students do on the computer with an audio narration to go with it. The easiest way to understand screencasting is to watch one. So, right now, go watch one of my all-time favorite screencasts about Wikipedia that was done by John Udell at tinyurl.comlydp2sfg. I'll wait until you come back. Okay, get the picture? (And "get" Wikipedia a bit more?) The potential is pretty obvious, I think. From a teaching standpoint, you could create screencasts as support materials when teaching complex skills on the computer. If you had a Tablet PC, you could capture the ink annotations or written solutions that you share with your students. You could create' training videos for peers, narrate PowerPoint-created tours for parents, or make video collections of exemplary student work. Once again, the possibilities are enormous. With your students, you could ask them to annotate their work in voice as they show it on screen.Or, you could have them create their own Internet tours. Or, have them read stories or poetry they write with accompanying visuals they have either created or found. They can even take some of those podcast ideas and attach visual images to go along with it. It's limited only by your and their creativity. Once you have Jing up and running, it sits in the upper right-hand corner of your screen like a small sun, waiting and ready. Any time you want to make a quick capture, you just mouse over it and three rays of sunlight shoot out-a plus-sign icon that let's you start the capture process, a disk icon that lets you look at the history of what you have captured, and a gear icon where you can configure things. Click on the plus sign and you get crosshairs that you can drag over any portion of the screen that you want to capture. If you want the entire window, just drag the crosshairs onto it and click once. When you are done selecting, just click on the "video" tab at the bottom left, and you'll get a 3 . . . 2 . . . I countdown to begin your recording. (You can also use Jing as a screen-capture tool by clicking on the "Image" tab instead.) At this point, start talking and working on your desktop to capture whatever process you're demonstrating. Remember that most screencasts should be shorter rather than longer, and, in fact, Jing limits you to five minutes. When you're done, click "Stop." (You can also click "Pause" if you need to stop just for a moment.) Immediately, Jing wiIJ pop up a playback window where you can preview what you just captured. Take a look, and if you don't like it, just cancel it and do it again. LIVE STREAMING-WEB TV FOR THE ClASSROOMS The most recent entry into the multimedia publishing discussion is livestreaming video to the Web. In a nutshell, we're talking the ability of teachers and students to create their own TV shows online injust a few clicks. And, if you have a personal learning network at your disposal, you also have a potential audience at your fingertips. While this is still pretty unexplored territory in education circles, and while the tools are evolving rapidly, a surprisingly large number of teachers are already experimenting with the idea of creating live "television" with their students in their classrooms and schools. And because of how incredibly easy it is to do this, that number is increasing greatly every day. The examples run the gamut: school plays and musicals being broadcast to relatives far and wide, student science presentations for parents to watch, live student-run daily news broadcasts, live teacher professional development that anyone can tune into, conference workshops and presentations free to those who couldn't make the trip, and all sorts of other possibilities. Basically, we're close to the point where every school, every classroom, every person, in fact, can own a television station. Don't believe me? Here's a quick story. On the night of the New Hampshire primary in 2008, I got a Skypechat asking me to come watch and participate in a live review of the election returns on the "Newly Ancient" streaming TV channel at Ustream.tv. So I clicked on the link, and who should I find conducting a careful analysis of the voting while talking live via Skype with people around the world and interacting with about 1 5 "viewers" in the show's chat room but Arthus Erea, that 14-year old blogger I mentioned a couple of chapters back. That was a "sit up and take notice" moment for me, no doubt. No question, the live streaming from the phone option is not as high quality as from the computer, but, in all honesty, it isn't bad. At this moment, Ustream Mobile works with just about any Nokia phone that has a camera, and with a jail-broken iPhone 3G. (l never told you that, by the way.) You simply download the application to your phone, find something worthwhile to stream (like my daughter's basketball games), and press whatever button means "Start" on your phone. Anyone who has the address of your Ustream.tv "show" can just tune in and watch. Like the computer version, you can save the recordings to your show page, and, whenever anyone watching your show types in a chat comment or question, you see it on the video screen on your phone so you can just talk back a reply. Pretty amazing. Also going down this road is Qik.com, which, at this moment at least, supports even more phones. And if you do have a jail-broken iPhone 3 G (shhhh!), both services now have apps i n the App Store on iTunes. (Ustream also has an app that allows you to watch live streams on your iPhone, regardless of whether you've hacked it or not.) All of that being said, our ability to create and share multimedia in more and more transparent ways is only going to continue to expand. The potentials are huge, and the pitfalls challenging. But publishing to an audience can be a great motivator for students. Podcasting, videocasting, screen casting, and now live-streaming TV are all great ways to get student content onlin.